Customer Stories and Helpful Advice About Ducks & Geese

My Teenager (Acting) Mallards

I bought my 8 mallards when they were less then a week old from a local feed
store. My thought was I would raise these ducks so I could give back to the
earth what my husband (a avid duck hunter) has taken away. The store had
only 8 left so I bought all 8 expecting some of them not to make it since in
mid to late March it still gets rather chilly here in Arkansas. To my
surprise they all did fine with a heat lamp and wood shavings in the
homemade wood box on my back deck and grew as they should (as far as what I
was able to find out from the Internet).

I put a pie pan in the box for them
to play in. All 8 could get in at one time and they thought it was great!
After they were done playing in the water they would all return to
underneath the heating lamp to dry off and warm up. As they grew so did
their source of water to play in, first the pie pan with about a half an
inch of water, on and into a cat's litter box, when they were to big for all
of them to enjoy that I would take them out and let them play in a small
kiddie pool for about 20 minutes while I cleaned their box everyday. Finally
when they were big enough to escape the kiddie pool we built them a
enclosure and put a larger kiddie pool in there (that has turned out to be
the biggest headache to keep clean, like you said on your FAQs page), but
worth the extra effort when I see how much they enjoy it. I had a little bit
off a hands off approach to raising them. I would care and provide for them,
but I wouldn't handle or allow others to handle them much. My intent was for
them to go to and live at my pond when they were mature and maybe only
returning to the cage in the evening for safety from predators.

We would
walk behind them and guide them in the direction of the pond daily so they
could learn the route. When we were able to coax them into the water they
would swim a little while, but as soon as the first duck would feel the
slightest fish nibble on it's feet they would all scurry across the water
and back to the house to seek refuge. After a few weeks of this we gave up
and allowed them to be the "yard ducks" they wanted to be. They haven't ever
entered our swimming pool and don't seem interested in it at all. On the
days when the temps would reach over 100 degrees we would turn on the
sprinkler and they played under that.

Until recently they have stayed in the yard (the 3 acres with a barbed wire
fence to keep the horses in the pasture), searched for bugs, and played in
any little puddle they found. Their favorite spot is where the condensation
from the air conditioner drips. In the last week or so I have seen them go
under the fence and walk the path as if they were finally going to the pond.
To my disappointment within 5-10 minutes they would all run (yes, I said run
rather then fly) back to the yard. If they are to spot the hawk that has
taken up residence out by the pond or the horses they will fly back and
huddle together in front of the enclosure until they are certain the coast
is clear.

All of them got their feathers and begin to fly at the time expected. The
learning to land was very entertaining for me, but I suspect wasn't very
pleasant for them. After a week or so of crash landings (into the side of
the house or a few head over tail tumbles) they finally got it perfected. In
the mornings we open the door and feed them outside of their cage. After
they get a little feed in their tummies they take a morning flight that I
would guess doesn't exceed a mile radius. The rest of the day they remain in
the yard and spend a lot of time under the vehicles to get shade. In the
evenings just before the sun starts to set they will set out on what we have
named their "evening flight", then back home to enjoy a little more feed,
and then they will happily waddle into the cage to be kept up for the night.

Where I certainly do not consider these ducks to be wild I don't consider
them to be tame either. They always keep a 4' to 5' distance from us, but
they do talk to us and when we walk in the direction of where the feed is
kept it gets their attention. More then wild or tame, I refer to them as
rebellious teenagers. They would rather be left alone, only seek us out when
they want something, and if they don't want to do what we want or need them
to they know we can't make them.